Back to the Beginning
by tato82
Summary: This ISN'T a Narutowentbacktothepaststory. Naruto has finally engaged Pein in open combat, a new part of his heritage is revealed as a battle of titanic proportions is waged in the remains of Amegakure. Burn the emo. Cleanse the yaoi. Kill the Mary Sue.
1. Chapter 1

This fic is came from an idea that has been swimming around in my head ever since I read chapter 360 of the manga and saw the Legendary Ending© of Halo 3. I just felt in love with that "IT ENDS THE WAY IT BEGAN" approach Bungie decided to take. This story is **not**, I repeat, it is **not **a "Naruto went back to the past fic to change the future fic" They have been done to death!

On another note, chapter 5 of Legend should be posted within the next week.

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, cause if I did I'd be RICH BITCH!

**BACK TO THE BEGINNING.**

_'__Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without police protection is both. It is as cowardly to betray an offender to justice, even though his offences be against yourself, as it is not to avenge an injury by violence. It is dastardly and contemptible in a wounded man to betray the name of his assailant, because if he recovers, he must naturally expect to take vengeance himself.__'_

These were the thoughts running through Naruto's head as he stared at the eight bodies sprawled in the ground, only two of them barely alive. He remembered having read this code of honor somewhere during his travels with Jiraiya. It may not completely apply to his case but one thing did jump to mind: getting even with those whom have wronged you. And he was just getting started.

He missed the old pervert, his sensei, his grandpa. They had taken him away from him. Only a few hours ago he had received the terrible news from a toad Jiraiya had sent to him. He cried at first. Hell! Even Kakashi-sensei had cried when he heard of his favorite author's death at the hands of Pein and Konan of Akatsuki. After that, something he had never felt arised from deep within his heart. He began to remember all the bad memories of his life, the cold stares, the abuse, the hatred and how being accepted by a few precious people had saved him from the darkness. Jiraiya had been one of those precious few, he had never told him how much he cared about him and now he would never have the chance.

Now he stood in the middle of what used to be Amegakure, bruised and bloodied yes, but victorious none the less. Buildings had been destroyed, deep cuts, some several hundreds of meters deep, marred the ground resulting from his new wind cutter attacks. Huge prints littered the land, a result of an epic battle between summoned creatures.

He smiled. Sure, Jiraiya's earlier fight had made a lot of damage but were he alive he would have been proud of his student and said something along the lines of 'bringing down the house'.

Now, he took a moment to check himself only to discover that he was a mess. He just hoped that his beautiful Sakura-chan would not be mad at him for having to treat him once again. He seriously doubted that even with his newfound power he'd be able to survive if the girl he loved with all his heart decided to go on a rampage against him.

Thinking about Sakura only caused him to wince. Boy was he in for it now. Sure he had been distressed at the moment but still he had stolen her first kiss, she would surely kill him now but he did not mind: her soft lips did feel nice after all.

_**Flashback.**_

Naruto was on his knees crying as Sakura held him. She was also crying but not for Jiraiya, she barely knew the Gama-sennin. She was crying for Naruto, for the pain she knew he was experiencing. So she held him and kissed his head repeatedly trying to make it better for the boy she could no longer deny being in love with. Their companions, the team formed to track Sasuke down all had looks of sorrow and sympathy for him.

Feeling his emotional turmoil the Kyubi had tried to take advantage of the situation by siphoning its own tainted power to Naruto, trying to corrupt him little by little just as it had been doing in the past. But this time it would not work the way the beast wanted it to. Something that had never happened before occurred. Was it was barrier that had once existed in his own mind before? Or some sort of epiphany or revelation, it did not matter at all. All that mattered was that he now had the power to protect his precious people and to destroy those who threatened them.

Just as the demon was sending its dark power and instinct to the boy it was startled by his sudden appearance within the seal realm. The Kyubi could not see his eyes as they were hidden behind the bangs of his blond hair but it could feel the fury he was emanating. A fury the like of which it had experienced only once in its long existence and as it remembered the past it became uncertain of what was to come.

**"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE NINGEN? DO YOU WANT MY POWER TO AVENGE YOUR **_**PRECIOUS **_**SENSEI? OR WHAT IS THAT YOU THOUGHT OF HIM, **_**GRANDFATHER**_**?"** It asked with a tone of dark humor but to its great surprise the human boy remained silent. Normally, Naruto would have exploded at him and it would have taken on its offer of power.

Suddenly, from the walls of its cage, large chains began materializing and attaching themselves to its body binding it and bring its head down to the floor. It screamed and struggled violently, trying to shake of the things that would signify its bondage to the boy but it was all in vain.

**"INSOLENT MORTAL!!! DO YOU TRULY BELIEVE THAT**_** YOU **_**CAN BIND **_**ME **_**TO YOUR WILL?!" **It screamed in defiance despite the fact that it knew it would all be for naught. Naruto raised his face and as soon as the beast saw his eyes it resigned itself to its fate knowing that the time had come as it finally confirmed what it had suspected for a long time.

Naruto came back to reality and overlooked the group, they all gasped as soon as they saw his face and it was not because of the look of silent, cold fury etched on his face, nor that his whisker marks were gone. He turned to Sakura and grabbing her gently he kissed her, much to her surprise and everyone else's, and whispered to her ear a few simple words he hoped would explain things to her.

"You guys go after Sasuke, that's what you want after all but please remember that even if you love him, I will always love you and be there for you. It's the promise of a lifetime."

With that said he turned to the general direction of Amegakure and departed quick as lightning.

_**End Flashback.**_

Naruto was brought out of his musings by a sound or more like a pathetic groan that reflected a great amount of pain.

"Ughh…"

Pein… no, not Pein, Nagato was the name of the man. The leader of Akatsuki was waking up.

During his three year training travel with the old pervert, Jiraiya had told him the story of how some thirty years ago he had helped and trained three orphans from Amegakure, how the old pervert had thought them to survive in this cruel world, how… he always hoped that those kids were still around and living a good life.

Years later Jiraiya had encountered them and met his demise at the hands of two of them. Apparently one had already died and was completely forgotten about by his companions, even though he had been the one to keep them alive until the day they met Jiraiya and in Naruto's way of the ninja such things can not be forgiven.

Naruto turned around to the source of the sound, it was Nagato in what he had described early in the battle to be his original body, the only one of the six still able to function. He then noticed the woman, Konan if he recalled correctly, also begin to stir from her state of unconsciousness. He turned around to see if "Zetsu", at least according to the book Kabuto had given him, was still alive. Nope, he was as dead as a rock. Dismemberment and incineration surely worked wonders.

He once again turned to Nagato and fixed him with a stare cold enough to freeze the sun itself, it was completely at odds with his normal happy go lucky attitude but the heart and mind of a man will dramatically change when he loses one of the most precious things he can have: family.

"You… ugh… I should have been the one to know that legends have some truth to them… seeing that I am descended from a legend too." Nagato somehow managed to ask through the mind numbing pain he was experiencing.

Nagato was still trying to make heads from tails out of the fight, if it was even possible to call it a fight it was more like a war, which had ended only minutes before. The kid had shown up, using his elemental chakra manipulation to bring about hurricane strength winds that knocked down every single building in Amegakure. He had most definitively done that to catch their attention and it had worked beautifully. He had been curious at first when he did not feel the presence of demonic chakra in the vicinity, it would mean the kid had done it on his own and when one considered that the Jinchuuruki had brought down an entire ninja village in one single attack, without a demonic power boost, one would realize how truly impressive a feat it was.

'This kid, he's totally unlike the profile we have on him. He should have come straight at us blinded by rage and releasing the power of the Kyubi but instead he was cold and calculating a-and completely and utterly vicious.'

They had met him in the middle of what was left of the village, Zetsu having just arrived with a report on Madara's activities and a possible location for the hachibi. The kid was just standing there staring down at the floor as if he was in deep thought. Nagato had only smiled reassured in his belief that the Jinchuuruiki stood no chance against him but as soon as the boy lifted his head and the Akatsuki members got a hold of his eyes they knew something was terribly wrong.

At first Nagato wondered what those eyes were 'A new doujutsu perhaps?' he had thought to himself. Then, the wind started picking up to incredible levels, as if a storm had descended upon them. That should have been enough of a hint as to the kid's true nature, but in the rush of battle one does not think of such things. It was only when he called forth lightning from the heavens with neither hand seals nor chakra manipulation that he began to realize just what exactly he and his companions were fighting.

People had thought him to be a god but here in front of him was the closest thing to one that the human race could ever have. He definitively had the rage and power to emulate Fudo Myo-oh, the Immoveable Power that is not moved by fear or desire.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked, allowing some confusion to filter through his cold visage.

"Come on boy! You've never heard of the legend of the god Susano'o? I would have thought it was common knowledge?" Nagato said.

"What does the legend of the god of the seas and storms have anything to do with me?"

"You just said it yourself kid, the god of the _storm_. _You_ are descended from the line of the god of the storm." Nagato said much to Naruto's astonishment. "Now it makes sense why the Fourth Hokage sealed the demon into you. A part of the legend that is not widely known is that the Kyubi was Susano'o's most loyal servant. It's more than likely that the Yondaime was your father, it's the only way he could have possibly known you would withstand its power and besides you look just like him."

Needless to say Naruto was stunned. It did make sense, Yamato taichou had told him that the chakra of Kyubi was toxic in nature and yet he could use it and fight without any drawbacks, unless he used a massive amount at once. He would have to talk to Granny Tsunade about allowing him to check his birth records.

By now Konan had fully regained conciousnes and as she looked at Naruto standing over her beloved she started pleading for his life "P-please! Spare him! Spare Nagato I beg you! I'll let you do anything you want to me but _please_ spare him!" She said with tears flowing from her eyes hoping that the Jinchuuruki would show some mercy.

"Don't worry, I'll show him and the rest of your group the same mercy you showed to my grandfather when he died." Replied Naruto using the most fake sweet voice he could manage to bring out through his current state of cold, murderous fury.

Konan felt the icy fingers of fear and desperation claw at her heart. They would receive the same mercy Jiraiya-sensei did when they killed him: none.

However, Naruto wanted to get some information before he executed them, there were things he needed to know.

"What was your goal? What in the _hell_ did you hope to accomplish?" He asked venomously.

"The world is corrupt." Nagato answered "Nations make war with one another and bring suffering to the people of this world. If I gather all of the power of the bijuu I could create a kinjutsu capable of destroying entire nations in one single attack." His eyes had gained a manic brightness by now "If all the people in the world knew pain and suffering they would come to their senses and a new age full of peace would start."

Naruto finally allowed some of his normal hotheaded personality to come out as he yelled "YOU MORON! THE PEACE YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT WILL ONLY COME BECAUSE EVERYONE IS GOING TO BED DEAD!" He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He continued as his face regained its cold countenance "It doesn't matter anyway. I cannot allow you to live knowing that you have such ambitions but don't worry I'll make it painless. I WILL END YOUR LIFE SO YOU MAY NEVER HURT MY PRECIOUS PEOPLE EVER AGAIN."

And so, Naruto quickly created a futon Rasengan in his right hand, he trusted it towards his fallen foe effectively ending Nagato's life the moment it made contact.

'Two down one more to go.' He thought as he started walking towards Konan. She knew that her end would soon come and she hoped she would join Yahiko and Nagato wherever they were in the afterlife.

Despite her actions she wasn't a bad person. She had remembered Jiraiya sensei in a fond way and still cared about him. After he died she had stored his body within a scroll hoping to give him a proper burial once she had some time alone. Now she pulled the scroll out and made a motion to hand it to Naruto.

"Jiraiya sensei's body is stored within this scroll. I… I was planning on burying him but that should be your job now. I just hope he can forgive us, wherever he is." Konan mournfully said.

"Don't worry. I'll bring Jiraiya-jiji's body back to Konoha. I'll do anything to give him a good funeral." He replied.

"Thank you and before I go there is something you should know." she paused "Your friend, Uchiha Sasuke is in danger. You see, the Kyubi did not go to Konoha on its own will. It was summoned by another member of Akatsuki for the sole purpose of taking out the Yondaime Hokage. His name is Uchiha Madara, he provided his cursed blood and the hatred necessary while Nagato provided the power to summon it. He tried to gain control of it through his sharingan but it was an impossible task. His body was nearly destroyed and he is looking for a replacement."

"Sasuke's body! The bastard is after Sasuke's body!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, Nagato found a way to alter the transmigration aspect of the Rinnegan so it could be used by others that do not possess the doujutsu. Orochimaru was another one to learn this altered way."

She groaned in pain, even if he didn't kill her now she could feel that shw was as good as dead. She continued. "Please I beg you, one day find it in your own heart to forgive me."

"I forgive you." He said "I'm sorry." He whispered. It was the last thing she heard before he took her life.

Finally Naruto had time to sit down and relax, there was no need to fear any Ame ninja coming for him since they were either dead or trying to get some distance between them and what used to be their village. He could now rest, recover and think about the shocking things he had learned. It was then that he felt it, the presence of several different chakra signatures but one stood out amongst all the others. Usually, he would always take the time to enjoy the feeling of her presence but now he was afraid she would heal him just to beat the shit out of him or maybe she would skip the healing and go right to the beating. He took deep breaths, steeled himself and turned around to greet the new arrivals.

"Hi Sakura-chan! Hi guys! Err, sorry I left you behind?"

A/N:

And here it is: my second foray into fanfiction! I hope you guys like it and if you have any suggestions feel free to post them.


	2. Chapter 2

This fic is came from an idea that has been swimming around in my head ever since I read chapter 360 of the manga and saw the Legendary Ending© of Halo 3. I just felt in love with that "IT ENDS THE WAY IT BEGAN" approach Bungie decided to take. This story is **not**, I repeat, it is **not **a "Naruto went back to the past fic to change the future fic" They have been done to death!

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, cause if I did I'd be RICH BITCH!

**BACK TO THE BEGINNING.**

**CHAPTER 2**

_**Flashback**_

Haruno Sakura had been saddened the moment she heard of Jiraiya-sama's death. She knew the man was one of Naruto's most precious people, and Tsunade-shishou, no matter how much she tried to deny it, would be devastated at the news.

She hugged Naruto tightly trying to console him in this awful moment of his life as tears spilled from her eyes. Witnessing Naruto crumble at the death of someone else only served to reinforce the idea that he was no demon. He was a regular human boy with a painful past, or as regular as a ninja with a demon sealed within him can be.

He stopped crying and was not moving at all. It was then that she felt a familiar chakra being emitted from his body she recognized it immediately as the red chakra that had hurt her before. 'The Kyubi is trying to come out!' she thought in alarm.

Then just as suddenly as the feeling emerged it was gone. Yamato had already started moving towards them ready to contain the beast should it try to force its way out, he stopped his advance when he noticed the change in Naruto's chakra. A smile came to Yamato's face for the Kyubi had been suppressed, completely, by Naruto himself.

The boy in question stood up, gently grabbed her by the arms and proceeded to do something that rocked her world in several different ways: he kissed her in the lips. She was still shell shocked by his actions when she got a look at his eyes, she had never heard of eyes like his before. She did not know if it was a new doujutsu or kekei genkai, but those musings were cut short when Naruto hugged her and whispered a few words to her: "You guys go after Sasuke, that's what you want after all but please remember that even if you love him, I will always love you and be there for you. It's the promise of a lifetime."

Those words and his gentle actions had brought a shiver up her spine. She felt her knees become weak, her body heat up and her face compete with a tomato for the reddest thing ever. 'WHAT THE HELL?!' Raged inner Sakura, 'What's wrong with me? I'm in love with Sasuke-kun! Stupid Yamato-taichou! Damn him for confusing me!' She decided that the floor was very interesting for the moment until she realized that _HE_had kissed _HER_without her consent. There was a future pummeling lined up for him.

"Naruto! What are…?" She looked up only to find out that he was gone.

"Naruto wait!" Kakashi vainly called out. 'Damn he was moving fast, way too fast!' He went into deep thinking mode after he left. There was something about Naruto's eyes; he had seen them before 'But where?' Suddenly he remembered and his single visible eye widened. 'They looked exactly like Minato-sensei's eyes during his battle against the Kyubi!'

'Yes, even the atmosphere feels the same way, heavy and suffocating.' He looked at the team and noticed Hinata's downcast look. 'Poor girl has a crush on Naruto but she will never be able to get him, he truly is in love with Sakura' He paused and muttered in a low voice that only Yamato, due to his proximity, managed to catch "When in the hell did my team become the cast of a Soap Opera?"

Yamato had to fight the chuckle that threatened to escape from his throat and became serious once more "Sempai? What should we do? Do we continue our pursuit of Sasuke or do we follow after Naruto?" There was no doubt in his mind that Naruto was far more important than Sasuke at the moment. After all, Akatsuki's goals depended on the blond Jinchuuruki's capture, not to mention the _punishment_ they would receive from Tsunade-sama if they allowed her favorite blonde to come to harm.

Much to his surprise it was Sakura that answered very eloquently, without even speaking a single word, she just started running after the Jinchuuruki. Yamato and Kakashi just looked at each other before shrugging and following suit. "Team 8, follow us." Instructed Kakashi. 'I only hope we can get there in time to give help him. Not that we would make much of a difference. Anyone capable of taking down Jiraiya-sama would be more than enough to defeat all of us.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you OK, Karin?" Uchiha Sasuke asked to his kneeling companion and expert tracker. She had just collapsed for a second time that day. Suigetsu and Juugo were behind him and even if they tried to mask it he could tell they were concerned about her wellbeing.

"J-Just give me a moment to rest, please." Her breathing was heavy but already on the way to normal.

"What was it this time?" Suigetsu asked. He was truly curious, for as long as she had known the girl he had never seen her show any weakness, so seeing her do that exact same thing twice in a day was truly baffling.

"It w-was a-another massive presence, I-I don't know how to explain it! What the hell is going on?" Indeed earlier that day she had felt as her senses shut down on their own trying to protect her from a sensory overload when she had felt two massive chakras clash in the direction of Amegakure.

Her gift was unique. She could sense and differentiate people's chakra signatures from very long distances, a very handy ability and just what the doctor recommended for Sasuke's plans but things were getting ridiculous, she had never felt anything like what she had felt today in her whole life. Not even Orochimaru when he was at his strongest possessed a presence such as the ones she had felt today 'And from three different people!'

"This should not be possible! I didn't know that people like this existed in the world!" She exclaimed out loud.

"That bad?" Asked Suigetsu.

"Worse! If we ever encounter any of them we should immediately run away!

"Come on! Now you are exaggerating! They can't be any worse than Orochimaru was!" He had felt the serpent bastard's killer intent from up close and he could not bring himself to imagine anything worse than that. He turned to look at Sasuke and found him nodding at his statement for he had also felt Orochimaru's killer instinct when he was at his full strength.

"Sasuke-kun, what do you know of the guy that sent those kage bunshin after us?"

Sasuke turned to Karin with a questioning look "Naruto? Why are you asking about him?" Even if he had betrayed Konoha his genin team still held a special place in his heart. And Naruto even more than the others for he **did** see the blonde idiot as his brother, even if they were not related by blood.

"His presence is massive and suffocating, he is the one that caused this last sensory overload! And right now he is moving fast, and I mean _very fast _in the direction were the other two were fighting earlier. I have to admit that I'm scared, I have never felt something like this before, for such a warm chakra like his turn so cold and oppressive..." She said.

For his part, Sasuke was startled by this piece of information "What the hell is the dobe thinking?" he muttered to himself but the close proximity of his companions allowed them to hear what he had said very clearly and they were surprised by the emotion that the words contained. To them Sasuke had always been a cold and emotionally closed individual which meant that this guy must someone be important to him.

It was Suigetsu who broke the silence "Ha! I knew you were gay!"

Sasuke was brought out of his stupor by this proclamation, a rather loud one at that. His left eye started twitching and a vain in his forehead became very visible he was about to respond to this accusation but much to his misfortune his suffering was not over yet.

"NO! Please Sasuke-kun! Please tell me that it is not true?!" Karin screamed with a horrified look on her face and comedic tears flowing from her eyes. Once again he tried to respond only to be interrupted, yet again.

"It all makes sense now and it also explains why Orochimaru chose you to be his vessel instead of Kimimaro." Up to this point Juugo had remained silent but had finally decided to add his own opinion on the matter.

"I'M NOT AND HAVE NEVER BEEN GAY!" He had finally been broken out of his cold emotional shell and it had been that damn Naruto whom was at fault 'For the love of the gods! The dobe is not even here and yet he still finds a way to annoy me!'

"Could have fooled me!" "That's a relief" "Are you sure?" Were the simultaneous comments he received and for the first time in three years a true smile escaped him, a smile that a second later became a hearty laugh, it was contagious and soon all four of them were sharing it.

Once he had stopped laughing he became serious once more, indeed he was worried about Naruto but what could he do, Itachi was right there at his fingertips waiting for him 'But Naruto might die if he fights those guys on his own, what do I do?'

"Let's go, we've already wasted enough time here. We must continue on our way to the Nagano shrine." Sasuke said to the rest of team Hebi.

He was still having conflicting thoughts about turning his back on his friend but he had a duty to his clan and himself to kill Itachi. 'But why does my heart feel as if it was being constricted.' He hesitated to continue on the path that would take him to his brother until a vision of a young man, a shinobi from Konoha with black hair and eyes and sported the Uchiha symbol in his back flashed through his mind: _"Sure Kakashi, those who don't follow the rules are trash but those who abandon their __companions are worse than __trash! And if I have to destroy what the traditional notion of what a ninja is then I will do it. That is my nindo!"_ As soon as it had started it was over.

"What was that?!" The others only stared at him with worry in their eyes.

"Sasuke, are you okay? You spaced out for a moment there. Look, you are still recovering from your fight with that Deidara guy so maybe you should take a rest." It was Suigetsu.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it" He had to wonder what that was, a vision of the past? Definitively! But why him? 'Wait a minute! those are the exact same words that Kakashi told us when we passed his bell test! Are these my deceased ancestors guiding me? Are they telling me what I should do? But, don't they want me to avenge their deaths?'

Suddenly another vision came to him _'What does our family do in the village anyways?' _it was a six year old Sasuke asking his father on his family's history _'We are its guardians, we make sure that the villagers are at peace in their own homes and seventy years ago, out of our feeling of duty, our forefathers took up the responsibility of tracking down and killing all traitors to Konoha, by doing so we protect our village and the people within it while also atoning for the sins of our past' __Young Sasuke was perplexed, this had been one of the few __occasions__ in which his father had not been cold and distant to him, as a matter __of fact, he had gained a look of determination rarely seen on him and had given him a warm smile. One thing bothered Sasuke though__ 'Sins of our past?'__ "What do you mean father?" "Don't worry about it Sasuke; one day, when you have gained the ability to use the sharingan, you will be told all of the secrets of our clan."_

The world around him blurred one more time and Sasuke found himself in the familiar setting of the Uchiha clan compound, back in Konoha. 'Where… Why? What's happening?' "**Son…**" someone said from behind him.

He recognized that voice. He turned around and his eyes widened at the ghostly presence before him "Father!"

"**How have you been Sasuke?**" Sasuke could feel the sadness in his father's voice and realized that this was not a memory from the past; this was the spirit of his slain father standing before him.

"Father I… I am on my path to avenge you and the rest of the clan!" He answered.

Uchiha Fugaku for his part felt an even greater feeling of sadness at his youngest son's words. It must have shown for Sasuke was quick to call him out on it. "Why are you sad?! Don't you want me to avenge you, mother and the rest of the clan?!"

"**Yes son, we do but not at the cost of **_**your**_** own **_**soul**_** Don't you remember what I told you a few weeks before your brother betrayed us?! ****That I did not want you to become like him?! WELL YOU ARE! This path of vengeance you have taken was not chosen by you, it was chosen for you by Itachi!**" He paused "**And in doing so you have betrayed **_**us**_**, those whom you ****s****ought**** to avenge.**" By this point Fugaku's face was looking at the ground, as if shamed for his son's actions and Sasuke could feel his father's disappointment. It was a weird and uncomfortable feeling and found that he could not face his father. He turned his face to his left side trying to avoid his father's disappointed gaze.

"What else could I have done? TELL ME!" The emotions that Sasuke had kept bottled up for eight years were coming at him with the force of a meteor crashing upon the face of the Earth. "What else _can_ I do?" It was now a whisper.

"Son, do you remember what you were thought about the role of the Uchiha clan in the police force? How we were the protectors of Konoha's peace?" Fugaku gave his questions a pause before continuing "**And… how I told you that we took up that mantle for the ****atonement**** of past sins? You Sasuke are betraying everything that we stood for, we were the protectors of Konoha and you, the last of us, betrayed that ideal. You are now following on your brother's… no he is not your brother anymore, **_**you **_**are following on Itachi's treacherous footsteps. You are walking down a path that will only destroy you and**** by doing so, betraying**** the hopes that the spirits of your ancestors had for the clan!**"

After a moment of Silence Fugaku continued "If your mother was able to be here the way I am you would see nothing more than worry and disappointment etched on her face." Sasuke's whole body stiffened at those words, tears started welling in his eyes at the knowledge that his mother could not rest in peace, not because she was killed by her own son but because _he_, the youngest, was heading towards the same destiny as his brother.

"I'm sorry if I have let you down father." Sasuke said, face downcast and tears falling freely to the ground, "but what is done, _is done._ There is no way I will be pardoned by Konoha, even if I bring them Itachi's head." He truly felt sad about not being able to return to his home.

"**Are you sure about that Sasuke? What about that blonde friend of yours? From what I have been able to gather he has a lot of pull with Tsunade-sama and he feels about your friendship strongly enough to put his life on the line for you.**" Fugaku smiled now that he was finally getting through his boy's emotional walls. "**Will you abandon him now that he needs you and become the same thing that Itachi is, a monster? Or will you truly honor us and revive the clan to once again become the protectors of Konoha?**"

Sasuke was conflicted now. All these years planning Itachi's demise, training in order to accomplish that goal, closing himself off to others, had they all been wasted? 'No I have become strong through them, but I was misusing it. I shouldn't have let my pride get in the way of learning that lesson from Naruto, that if I'm protecting other then I will become truly strong!'

"**Good it seems that you now understand Sasuke.**" Fugaku had a smile on his face now "**It's time for me to go Sasuke, I can only be here for a short amount of time and that time is almost up.**" The boy looked up to his father with tears in his eyes; his whole body was shaking in an attempt to control the sobs coming from deep within his soul. "**I'm glad I could see you once more and you should now that I'm very proud of you my son. And remember, you carry**** within you the hope of all ****of our kinsmen**** that have come before you**** as well as my own**** Good bye now and good luck!**" With those parting words Sasuke disappeared.

Fugaku was in deep thought when a female voice interrupted him. "**I wish I could have spoken to him but seeing him again is more than enough for me.**"

He turned to the new voice: "**I know and I'm sorry Mikoto, but this was something that only he and I could talk about. And now I can only hope that it was enough to keep Sasuke safe from **_**Him**_"

"**I do too dear.**" With that said the world blurred and they returned from whence they came from.

Once again Sasuke returned to the world of the living. He understood now, his family was really trying to reach out for him from beyond the grave. His _family_ was trying to guide him back into the right path even if it meant allowing Itachi to live for a while longer. 'He is finally within my grasp but they are right, if I abandon Naruto now that he needs me the most then I will be no better that Itachi!' He finally came to a decision and unbeknownst to him said decision would, in the future, end up saving his life and most important of all: _his soul_.

He finally spoke "I'm going after Naruto, I-I have to go help him." The others looked at him, perplexed that he had taken this course of action.

"I thought you wanted to kill your brother?" Suigetsu asked.

"I did and still do but as someone once said to me: Those who don't follow the rules are trash but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash! Itachi will still be alive tomorrow, but if Naruto dies today I will have lost a friend… no, not a friend a true brother, forever!" He looked over each one of them "If you don't want to come with me you can leave and go on your own way, I will not stop you nor resent you."

Suigetsu was truly surprised by Sasuke's words 'Whoa! That was some deep shit!' he thought. "Nah, I'll stay with you. I bet that wherever you are going things will get pretty damn interesting and I'm just dying for some good and violent action."

Juugo for his part did not take any time at all to give his answer. "Sasuke-san, you are the only one that can help me stay in control and I don't want to hurt anyone else in my life if it's not necessary, I will stay with you too." After Juugo had given Sasuke his answer all three boys turned their head towards Karin.

Karin, for her part, felt them staring at her and she had the decency to look embarrassed "W-What are you guys looking at, of course I'm coming with you. I-I have to keep an eye on you so you three don't go doing anything stupid!"

"More like keep an eye _and_ your hands on dear _Sasuke-kun_ here, he he" Teased Suigetsu with a girlish emphasis on '_Sasuke-kun_', a few nanoseconds later he was being pummeled into the ground by the only girl on their group.

Sasuke had to smile for he had found good companions in these three. "Karin, please refrain yourself from trying to kill Suigetsu. We have to go now." And with that said they took up to the trees a full speed towards Amegakure.

'Come on dobe! Don't you go dying on me before I get there!'

_**End Flashback**_

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Naruto took deep breaths, steeled himself and turned around to greet the new arrivals.

"Hi Sakura-chan! Hi guys! Err, sorry I left you behind?"

"NA-RU-TO!" Sakura exclaimed while she adjusted her gloves and made cracking noises with her knuckles.

"He-hey! Sakura-chan! Please wait, I can explain!" He tried to calm her down while raising his hands in a placating, and defensive if necessary, manner.

The other members of the team just stared at the amusing scene while trying to contain their smiles. Well, all except Kiba who had an evil looking smile plastered on his face 'Ooh, this is going to be a good show!' he thought.

"WELL?! I'm waiting!"

"W-well in the manga books that Jiraiya-jiji let me read, th-the hero always kisses the girl he likes before doing something so stupidly heroic that he thinks he will not return to her. And weren't you guys supposed to go after Sasuke?" Naruto said with his characteristic pose: a sheepish smile and a hand scratching the back of his head.

'Ouch! Wrong thing to say! Are you really that dense when it comes to girls Naruto?' Thought Kakashi about his pupils' current plight and if he had to guess the rest of the team were thinking along the same lines.

"W-w-what?!" she stammered out.

Naruto realizing what he had said tried to take it back "N-no! I meant…" He paused to think it over and finally answered "No, I really meant that. I already lost someone precious to me, I never told him how much he meant to me and now that I have lost him I think I can finally understand what Sasuke told me at the Valley of the End." That left Sakura speechless.

"I came here fully prepared to die if it meant keeping Konoha, Tsunade-bachan all those that I consider my family safe, specially you Sakura-chan. If they killed you I-I don't think I would be able to keep on living knowing that I was too weak to fight my own battles. That is something that I learned from Asuma-sesei's death. There would have been no need for him to fight Akatsuki if I had had the power necessary to stop them and now his baby is never going get to know its dad. That pain and loneliness is something that no child should go through, I know that by experience. Besides, when I think about the lives of the Hokage I realize that is what being Hokage is all about"

'Wow Naruto! Playful and childish one moment, serious and deeply philosophical the next just like Minato-sensei.' These were Kakashi's thoughts as he looked at the faces of the tracking team. They also were in awe at how deep and inspirational Naruto's words were. He now turned around to look at the ruins of what used to be Amegakure 'And talking about the previous Hokage, from what I can see I think that his power and abilities are now on par with them.' Once again he turned his attention to his students.

Sakura finally snapped and decided to make her discomfort known to our blond hero in the most common way a pissed of female of the human species will: she slapped him, real hard. SLAP!

"S-Sakura-chan?" he asked while holding his hurting cheek.

"Na-Naruto! YOU IDIOT!" she threw her arms around him and started to cry. "Please don't say things like that! Please promise me that no matter what happens you will always come back to me! I don't want to lose you! You-you are too important to me! Promise me!"

"Sakura-chan, I-I promise! And it is the promise of a lifetime!" He wrapped his arms around him basking on the warm feeling her body gave him. He whispered into her ear "I love you more than life itself Sakura" He was so immersed in her embrace that he did not realize he had said those words until she responded in kind "I-I love you too, Naruto"

They were brought back to reality by the rather loud sound of a clearing throat. "As heartwarming this scene between you two lovebirds is we have business to attend to." Came the voice of a thoroughly amused Kakashi.

"Aaagh!" "Kyaah!" They separated very quickly and the blushes on their faces were so red that the rest of their visible skin had become very pale.

"Kakashi-sempai, I think you are forgetting something?" Yamato interrupted while extending his right hand to the Copy-nin.

'Damn you Tenzou! Why are you getting in the way of my fun?! And why do you have your…' "Damn! I had completely forgotten"

"That's right sempai! You owe me five hundred ryo!" Yamato said with a big smile threatening to split his face in two.

Sakura finally realized what was happening. "Wait a minute you two were placing bets on US!" she screamed indignantly.

"Calm down Sakura-chan, Yamato here has a bit of a cupid reputation. I mean would you have predicted Iruka-san declaring undying love to the Mitarashi Anko." Replied Kakashi trying to placate her.

"And what has that got to do with us?!" She screamed/asked.

"Well, Yamato did predict such an occurrence, as improbable as it was and several others like that. So it is some sort of tradition within the ANBU ranks to bet against him just to try and prove him wrong." He finished with his typical (and patented) 'eye-smile'.

After a few seconds of silence, understanding of the words that Kakashi had uttered finally dawned on Naruto. "WHAT?! IRUKA SENSEI AND THE CRAZY BLOOD-LOVING SNAKE-LADY?! WHY DIDN'T HE TELL ME THAT?!"

"Now, now Naruto; we have much important things to discuss. Let's start with the most important one: What happened here?"


	3. Chapter 3

This fic is came from an idea that has been swimming around in my head ever since I read chapter 360 of the manga and saw the Legendary Ending© of Halo 3. I just felt in love with that "IT ENDS THE WAY IT BEGAN" approach Bungie decided to take. This story is not, I repeat, it is not a "Naruto went back to the past fic to change the future fic" They have been done to death!

Disclaimer: I don't own shit, because if I did I'd be RICH BITCH!

Thanks to all of you whom have found time to review this story! And there _is_ a point to Sasuke's decision. You will soon see that it brings us to another titanic confrontation and holy cow! I predicted part of Jiraiya's and Grandpa' Toad's fate 2 weeks before the manga chapters came out! WOOT!

**BACK TO THE BEGINNING**

**CHAPTER 3**

"Now, now Naruto; we have much more important things to discuss. Let's start with the most pressing one: What happened here?" Kakashi questioned his blue eyed student.

However, Naruto was still in a state of shock caused by the revelation of Iruka's love life. "Iruka-sen… a-a-a-and the crazy snake lady?!" The jounin could barely hear the blonde's muttering voice.

"Naruto? We have to do things that are more important at the moment than reflecting on Iruka's love life." Kakashi said snapping Naruto out of his shock. He also now noticed the item storage scroll that his student was holding "What's with the scroll? Is it important?"

"Kakashi-sensei… I-I think it would be best if we talked about this privately." As he said this he motioned with his head for them to move to a different spot from where the team was.

Kakashi's answer was to nod but Sakura interjected "Wait! Naruto, I have to check your injuries!"

"Okay Sakura-chan, Come with us. Yamato you stay here with the rest of the team and set up a secure perimeter around us. I will brief you on what Naruto tells me later." Kakashi instructed.

"Hai, Kakashi-sempai"

Kiba after taking in the whole scene of destruction finally decided to speak "Hey Naruto! Did those Akatsuki guys get to you before you made it to Ame?"

Naruto paused for a moment and answered in a 'manner of fact' way as a dark look came to his face. "No Kiba, this _was_ Amegakure."

The dog boy's expression said it all, he was shocked! "Y-you're kidding, right?" expecting Naruto to start scratching his head and say he was bluffing but it was Shino who answered for him.

"No Kiba, he does not jest. This was in fact Amegakure no sato." Shino said in his usual composed manner.

"What?! What in the hell happened here and how do you know?" Kiba managed to ask.

Sai answered that in his smart-allecky way. "It should be obvious fleabag (Sai's nickname for Kiba, he read it on a book on how to make friends) that Naruto and the Akatsuki destroyed this place during their battle."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?! SAY IT AGAIN YOU LITTLE BASTARD AND I'LL MAKE YOU EAT THOSE WORDS!"

"But I read on a book that you gave nicknames to those you wanted to be friends with." Sai stated with a finger under his chin.

"WELL, THIS IS NOT WHAT THE AUTHOR MEANT YOU…"

"Ki-Kiba-kun! S-Sai-san! P-Please s-stop arguing." Hinata said trying to cool off Kiba's rising temper but it was Shino who stopped all arguing by explaining how he knew what he knew.

"You should know that I always leave one of my bugs with each of my allies whenever I'm on a mission. That way I always know where they are and their status. I'm surprised you did not figure that out on your own, after all, we've been on the same team for nearly four years now."

Kiba looked embarrassed at Shino's comment "Y-yeah, that's right but still, now that you mention it there are a lot of different scents in this place, it smells almost the same as Konoha just with a whole lot of rain… and blood." After saying this Kiba turned his head to look at the direction where the remaining members of the original team 7 were walking towards.

"That's enough kids! You heard Kakashi-senpai, we need to establish a perimeter while Naruto debriefs him" And so, the rest of the team moved in different directions in order to fulfill their assigned task with an annoyed Kiba muttering a last "We're not kids!"

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"So… Naruto, are you going to tell me what happened here?" Kakashi asked in his usual aloof way.

Meanwhile Sakura was fussing over Naruto's injuries, an injury all over his right arm in particular. "Naruto-baka! You used that jutsu again, didn't you?"

Naruto had the decency to look guilty "But Sakura-chan! I had to use it! And besides, I found a way to protect myself from it! Mostly…" Sakura rechecked his arm and realized that it was true, his arm was seriously injured by normal human standards but the damage was much less than it had been when he had used the Futon Rasen Shurinken for the first time against Kakuzu and if she added that this was Naruto then his arm would be healed in a day. Still that would not stop her from chastising the blonde "It doesn't matter! Tsunade-shishou forbade you from using it! You just wait until I tell her you disobeyed her direct orders!" She made sure to accentuate the parts that would turn him into a nervous four year old. Even Kakashi had to give Naruto a look of pity at what was coming to him. It was then that she noticed that he was also healing at a faster rate than before, more serious wounds that he had received were closing at an incredible pace and yet, she could not feel the presence of the Kyubi's chakra running through him.

"Y-Y-You wouldn't do that, would you?!" by now the poor guy was sweating bullets and pulling at his jacket's collar or whatever was left of it, or his shirt for that matter. It was then that Sakura noticed the state of near undress that Naruto was currently in and this made inner-Sakura come out roaring '**Shannaro! Will you look at those abs and chest?! They are so incredibly firm and hard and manly!**' 'Sh-Shut up! I need to concentrate on healing him, damn it! Even if it is the truth. Oh boy! All that training he did really paid off' '**Okay! But you better start paying more attention to him from now on! I don't want any hussy to find out how hot he really is and come stealing him from us!**' With all of these thoughts running in her head Sakura could not fight the blush that now showed on her face, Naruto took notice of it and being the dense bloke that he was decided to ask for her well being "Sakura-chan? Your face is flushed, are you okay?" His innocent question brought Sakura back to reality were she quickly brought a hand to her nose to try and stop the flow of blood that had resulted from her Inner-persona's insinuations "I-I'm alright Naruto! Don't worry, it's nothing!"

Kakashi could only giggle perversely at the pair they were so innocent… maybe not so innocent but he had to stop this nonsense, no matter how funny it was to tease his students. The best way to bring their attention back to business and get a sit-rep from Naruto was to clear his throat "Sakura please continue treating Naruto, Naruto you still have to tell me what happened"

And with those words Naruto's entire demeanor changed. After a moment of silence he began recounting the events that lead to the destruction of Amegakure.

FLASHBACK

Naruto was running through the forests following the direction that would bring him to Ame, fast, very fast, lighting fast. Had he looked up into the skies he would have noticed the weather patterns changing, what was a semi-cloudy day was quickly darkening into a storm the likes of which few ever had the misfortune of witnessing. It mirrored his own state of mind at the moment but such thoughts were far from his mind. He was planning on how to take on the bastard that he now knew as Pein or Nagato, whatever he was named, and the bitch that accompanied him.

He had summoned the little messenger toad that had brought the bad news concerning Jiraiya's fall at the hands of Akatsuki's leader. The toad was holding for dear life on to Naruto's head, the speed at which they were traveling was just mind blowing. He had just finished relaying all the information he had on the tragic battle to the young ninja. "Only Grandma' survived Naruto. Jiraiya and Grandpa' apparently sacrificed their lives to make sure she got out of there so you could have a warning on what this Nagato guy's abilities are." Naruto only kept running while he answered "I see. Gama-Tsukai, go back to Mount Myoko and inform the other guys there that I'll be summoning them soon. There is a score to settle and I think they will be more than willing to help!" The little toad answered with a military style salute "Yes Sir!" and with that Gama-Tsukai was gone.

Naruto looked up beyond the tree line and finally saw his destination "Here we go!" As soon as he left the forest he jumped like he had never done before he willed the wind particles to carry him all the way to the center of the village, as he was in the air he began to notice the signs of recent destruction to the north of the village 'That's Jirai-jiji's style alright!' he finally spotted the perfect place to land and call attention to himself and used the wind to steer his freefall right into the main plaza of Ame.

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Asahina Akitsuki (No relation to Akatsuki!) was having a bad day. He was a chunin for Amegakure. Everything had been going so well in the morning right up onto the point were all hell had broken loose. Apparently someone had come to fight Pein-sama thinking that he could be taken down by a mortal. Well, their rarely seen leader had won that fight but it had caused a lot of destruction and panic amongst the building and population of Amegakure. The shinobi police force had been called upon to enforce the peace and to make sure that no one tried to take advantage of the chaos. 'At least they could have sent me to the northern sector, that's were all the action is but nooo…, they had to assign me to guard duty here on the center of the village! Here where nothing ever happens!' He kicked a stone lying on the floor with his left foot 'This is so booooring!' He looked up to the sky 'Please Kami-sama, at least give us something exciting to do!' Poor Akitsuki, he would soon learn that the saying '_Be careful of what you wish for cause' you just might get it!' _had a lot more truth to it than he had ever thought possible. 'Hey! What's that?'

At first he thought that the spot in the sky was a bird. Then he noticed that the spot was on a freefall and getting bigger and that as it descended the wind picked up and the skies darkened as if a storm had materialized out of nowhere. Sure there had been some scattered rain clouds but now they seemed to be converging and some even appearing out of nowhere right on top of his home village. The spot got bigger very fast and he managed to make out a human form out of it "WHAT THE HELL?!" With his scream he startled a lot of people present in the plaza who in turned looked up just in time to see a figure landing, very heavily on the stone floors of the public meeting place.

Naruto had landed right on the spot he had marked on his mind. The meter thick stone slabs cracked beneath him under his speed enhanced weight, such an impact should have shattered his entire skeleton but now he could just brush it of with a mere grunt. The hurricane strength winds that had carried him lost their cohesion as he stopped exerting his will on them and they in turn were unleashed upon the unfortunate populace currently present in the plaza. Roofs were torn from their buildings, civilians and even ninja were sent flying in all directions. A huge dust cloud erupted from the surrounding area, which should not have been possible at all considering the wet state of the entire place. He looked up and started to walk out of the crater his little stunt had caused.

Asahina Akitsuki was terrified. He had never seen a human being cause this kind of destruction without even meaning to do so for he could feel neither aggression nor killing intent coming from the intruder. For some reason though, his mere presence still terrified him. He felt as if an ancient power had been awakened and was now bearing down on Amegakure. 'Someone is coming out of the hole! I-I-is it a god?!' and then he saw the figure, revealing itself to being that of a boy who could not be more than sixteen years old. And wearing a 'Black jacket with bright orange stripes and bright orange pants! No god would wear something like that! Hell! Don't think even the dead last of the academy would wear something so… so… dumb!' He thought while a several sweat drops appeared on his visage. He decided to question the stranger "H-Hey you! I-Identify y-yourself!" 'Yep that did not come out as me being scared at all' he thought.

"I'm looking for a man, his name is Nagato. Call him out!" Naruto commanded in a deadly cold voice.

Akitsuki now knew that this would not end well, as if the entrance the stranger made was not a big enough clue. "I-I don't kn-know anyone b-by that name!" He replied.

"I think you know him by the name of Pein. **Now call **_**him**_** out!**" Naruto's voice came deeper and more distorted when her repeated his last command and this made Akitsuki and the rest of the Ame-nin feel even more apprehensive than ever before.

"What d-do you want with Pein-sama y-you p-punk?!" This response made Naruto angry and as a result he released a fraction of his killer intent upon the hapless crowd in front of him. This act made most of the people present drop to their knees, the weak of heart clawed at their chests. It was so potent that even the most battle hardened of shinobi had trouble breathing. Akitsuki could only think of one thing 'What in the hell is up with this guy's eyes?!'

"I just want to talk to him and maybe after that I'll kill _all_ 6 of him and perhaps just rip them apart in case they try something funny." Naruto said in a conversational manner and then his mood became cold again. 'What the hell is he talking about?! Six of them?! Is he crazy?!' Akitsuki thought as Naruto continued "I came for him and _only_ him and if you do not call the bastard out then I will have to get his attention in a very flashy way. Oh! And those of you who are smart enough should get away from this village as fast as you can. **I won't show mercy to anyone that even thinks of interfering with my business.**" His voice once again had become distorted and his killer intent was fully unleashed to the world, the skies darkened by the storm clouds that appeared out of nowhere and lighting began flashing down towards the earth.

The effect was immediate, civilians and less experienced shinobi immediately ran away while jounin and ANBU squads started converging on his position. When Naruto noticed the approaching reinforcements he formed a ram seal with his hands and began concentrating chakra all around him, the amount was so massive that it startled the charging Ame-nin giving Naruto the time to use his wind chakra affinity concentrating it all around his body around and the currents became an incredibly fast mini tornado, it's small size only belied the true power of what he was about to unleash. Once he deemed it ready he let loose of the control which held the winds spiraling on a controlled ark and it expanded much to the horror of one chunin Asahina Akitsuki 'So this is it, huh? A god truly descended from the heavens to punish us.' Was his last thought before the nox aeterna claimed him.

The devastation was quick and vast. The once tall buildings at the center of the proud shinobi village were reduced to rubble. People were flung like ragdolls in all directions and those that somehow managed to survive got their bearings and immediately ran away their feet carrying them as a fast as they could go. The people in the least damaged sectors, the ones closer to the village walls began an exodus, even the civilians could tell that something big was about to happen. A battle between titans was about to start and it was not meant to be seen by mortal eyes. Soon the survivors would begin to tell stories about Susano'o himself having descended from the heavens to punish the people of Amegakure and they would spread, and they would go on to become warnings of what happened when humans angered the divines by declaring themselves to be gods.

For his part, Naruto regretted having done what he had but the presence of three beings approaching him erased any sense of guilt he might have felt. He had managed to attract the attention of his targets.

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_**A few minutes earlier**_

"Konan, why do you hold onto his body? You should have erased any sort of emotional attachment to this world when we decided to follow this path." It was Nagato or rather Pein who spoke these words to the woman that had sealed their former master's body on a scroll. He was in the body that he had used to battle Jiraiya. They were currently in Akatsuki's main base located in one of the main towers near the center of Amegakure healing any damage that might be left from his battle against their former master.

"I know Pein but he saved our lives and…" Pein cut her off and turned his back on her "I know… the least we can give him a decent burial." He said turning his head a little bit to address the woman.

Konan smiled at that, her heart flared with hope that at least some part of the soul of the man she loved was still alive even if it was buried underneath Rikudo Pein. She moved to talk to him again when they were interrupted by a new presence.

"Pein-taichou, we bring you news on Madara's moves…" the figure said on a normal voice before it was overtaken by another one more sinister "**… it is rather interesting if I do say so myself**."

"What is it, Zet…?" Pein did not finish asking the question for he was interrupted by the spiking of a massive killer instinct being unleashed in the middle of his village.

"**What was that?"** The second half of the being known as Zetsu asked with a small hint of nervousness for he had felt such amounts of killer intent before, in the form of the bijuu but unlike theirs this one was controlled and focused, not raging and hot but cold and collected. He never expected to feel something like this in his life. He then noticed the darkening of the sky caused by clouds which were not there just seconds before and the lightning repeatedly striking the ground and buildings all around them.

Now Pein was intrigued, he could feel the massive chakra that was being gathered at the main plaza of Ame and he could tell that it was being prepared for an attack of massive proportions but for the storm and the lightning he could tell that none had been gathered. This was simply impossible as even bloodline limits required chakra to work his eyes were not an exception to this. He then looked up to the center of the village where he could make up the distinctive form of a tornado, a small one at that but packed with the massive amount of chakra he felt. He now understood what was about to happen. "Zetsu, Konan! Find some cover!" He ordered as he awakened his bodies from their stasis pods and willed them to find cover themselves.

He had just managed to reach cover himself when the beyond hurricane speed winds struck devastating the center of the village, leaving only a few buildings standing. He willed his _other_ bodies to remain in place as he looked at Konan and then at Zetsu gesturing them to follow him. 'Someone is going to _pay_ for this!' his mind raged.

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Naruto felt them approaching, that was weird for in the past he had only relied in his eyes to find his enemies but now that his mind was focused on one single task it seemed that he could concentrate better than he ever had before. No longer were his thoughts running from one place to another, unfocused and purposeless. He would have to ask Kakashi sensei about this later _if_ he managed to survive.

'Here they are now.' He thought, his mind already formulating several courses of action as he turned to look at them. He first focused on the Venus flytrap guy 'Well, I was right there is one more with them. That's Zetsu if the information on the book that Kabuto teme gave me is right. This throws any plans I might have had to the trash can. Let's see if I remember what the book said… He is some kinda plant guy. If I could use katon jutsu I would have an easier time dealing with him but I've got other ways to fight him' He then turned to the woman 'Konan, she can use paper,_ freaking paper, _as a weapon. She is also very slippery from what Gama-Tsukai told me.' And finally his eyes rested on Nagato. 'And that's the bastard I came here to kill, five more bodies besides this one and probably on more that might be his original body. This is the guy I have to watch out for. The other two are just a bonus just like the extra ramen bowl Ichiraku-ossan gives me whenever I eat fifteen bowls or more. Hmm, Ramen!' Yep, no matter how serious things get our dear Naruto will never change.

For their part, the Akatsuki members only regarded Naruto in a guarded way. The kid had just pulled a massive wind jutsu and did not seem tired at all. According to their information he possessed a massive amount of stamina and chakra but this was beyond anything they had ever seen. They were sure he had not used any of the Kyubi's power as it had its own distinctive signature, he had done it all on his own. They were not sure how he had managed to get such a big jump in ability or power in such a short amount of time and that was worrying. Then they noticed his eyes.

'A new doujutsu, perhaps?' Wondered Pein as he checked the young jinchuuruki's eyes. They were a dark color, resembling dark storm clouds circling around like the eye of a typhoon. The white of his eyes was gone and so were the blue irises that characterized the blond boy. In their place there was only the semblance of two storms and for a moment he could have sworn he saw lighting come dancing out of them. 'Well that's new.' The criminal thought.

It was Naruto who broke the Mexican standoff "Rikudo Pein, I have come for your life." His voice had betrayed no emotion and to Pein that was worrying. It would mean that he would not show anger and anger made it easier for a composed ninja to dictate a fight. 'Well, it was time for some taunting.' He decided.

"Will you look at that Konan, our target decided to come for us on his lonesome. Maybe we should have killed that old fool Jiraiya sooner." He smirked inwardly 'let's see him try to keep his composure after that jab.' And amazingly enough nothing happened. That is, until Naruto spoke.

"Keep wasting your breath if it makes you feel better _dead idiot_ cause' it doesn't matter if it's one or a thousand coming against me. We are going to fight and you are going to die." Pein narrowed his eyes in a show of anger. The boy had turned the tables on him! Naruto continued "Maybe I should also tell you that I know everything about your other bodies. You should call them out now since I don't want to waste too much time on you, I still have other business to attend to." Pein further narrowed his eyes. 'This kid is _infuriating_!'

He made a seal to summon the other bodies that collectively formed the being known as Rikudo Pein. "As you wish, _child!_" And with that said five more bodies appeared in clouds of smoke that typically signaled the appearance of a summoned being.

With all nine _people_, if some of them could be considered that, finally standing before him Naruto decided to open hostilities. He pulled a shurinken from his leg holster and threw it towards his enemies as he weaved the hand seals necessary for the technique he needed '**Shurinken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**' he screamed mentally and one shurinken became five thousand due to the huge amount of chakra he poured into the jutsu.

What happened next would make Pein take Naruto as a serious threat throughout the fight that was to come.

The eyes of the Akatsuki members widened at the amount of shurinken clones Naruto had created but still had the presence of mind to find some cover or at least Pein and Konan did. Zetsu merely closed his flytrap and partially melted into the ground in order to avoid the barrage and it was just the reaction the blond had been waiting for.

As soon as the deadly metal rain had ebbed away Zetsu came out of his spot in the ground grinning at our young hero. "Heh, is that all you have brat! **We'll definitively enjoy eating your body after we have taken the bijuu from you!**" His grin disappeared however when he heard one of two Naruto clones flanking him say "You talk too much" as they thrust their hands forward to both his arms and legs. The nukenin screamed in pain as the clones used their natural wind chakra affinity to dismember him they then weaved hand seals and spat oil over Zetsu's body before vanishing with a cloud of smoke. I his crippled state Zetsu managed to turn his head towards the original Naruto whom had his left hand pointing to the sky and brought it down pointing to him in a swift movement. The boy had not gathered chakra at all in his hand so Zetsu believed that whatever jutsu he was trying to use would fail 'Good, this will give me the time to regenerate and…' the last thing he ever saw on this world was a flash of blinding light.

The two remaining Akatsuki members could only look in disbelief at the smoldering remnants of their partner in crime. It had taken the Kyubi jinchuruuki less than three seconds to kill and immolate one of the most feared S class criminals in the world: 'Cannibal' Zetsu. Yet the most interesting and impressive thing had not been his masterful control over wind chakra but how he had called down lightning from the heavens to set the nukenin on fire without using neither hand seals nor chakra at all.

Pein was now thinking fast 'If the kid could take out Zetsu in such a short amount of time then he will definitively be a threat to me but it's not that what bothers me, it's his unnatural control over the weather. No, not the weather but the storm… It couldn't be… yet my own existence is proof that _it is _possible. If what I'm thinking is true then this fight just got a lot harder than any I have faced before.'

"Most impressive boy. To take out Zetsu in three moves is no small feat. But you will regret having challenged me for I'm Rikudo Pein the one who brought ninjutsu to the world. _I AM A GOD_!" Pein stated loudly, his eyes showed the madness common to megalomaniacs.

"I see… you care nothing for your comrades. That's not okay with me _even_ if they are wanted 'S' ranked criminals and as for _you_ being a god… **we'll see how much of a god you are after I'm done tearing you to PIECES**!" And with that said Naruto created a mass of one hundred and twenty shadow clones and sent them forward with the intention to figure out the exact way each body fought. He then noticed the fluttering of dozens of origami butterflies flying around him and he began to fill small cuts all over his body. Suddenly he felt a presence behind him and did a quick kawamiri, replacing himself with one of his clones and just in time too, for a nanosecond later a deadly looking paper spear ran the clone through.

For her part Konan had been a little surprised when he switched himself with a clone and was already starting to disentangle herself from it when she heard the clone utter a single word: "Boom!" and so the clone exploded and she screamed as her body sailed to what used to be one of the many water ways that littered the village.

Pein noticed this but he could not disengage from his fight and go to her aid without exposing himself to great harm. 'That was a Kage Bunshin Daibakuha! And I'm surrounded by shadow clones, damn it!' he then decided on his next course of action. The Summoning Pein body weaved hand seals and called upon a Cerberus jumping on top of it as his other bodies followed suit. Then the three headed hellhound proceeded to spit a fire stream from its mouth annihilating Naruto's shadow clones. Said ninja took notice of this and cursed. Pein was a good distance away from him and he did not possess a long range attack so he decided to try a new trick. Concentrating his wind chakra to his entire arm right arm he raised it above his head and swung it down as if it was a sword. He would later note that the damage caused by the new attack depends on the amount of chakra released upon the moment of execution and considering that this is Naruto the amount used was vast.

Pein noticed what the Kyubi jinchuuruki was doing 'A Kaze no Jaiba! Idiot from this distance it will not do more than send a fresh breeze my way!' he gleefully thought as the blond ninja in question brought down his wind sword. Yet, for some reason he could not help the gut feeling telling him to move out of the way He decided to trust his instincts.

Pein sent the mental command to all of his bodies to move out of the way as the wind rushed him he saw it rush by him without doing any kind of apparent damage but he soon realized he had lost his mental connection with one of his bodies, the one specialized in genjutsu. He willed one of his bodies to turn around and found the genjutsu specialist Pein and the Cerberus summon frozen in place. A thin red line appeared right at the center of both beings exposed flesh, the human body's clothes seemed to split showing that the thin red line ran through the body from head to pelvis and as if it had been cut by a saw mill it split in two halves with blood and gore spilling to the ground with the summoned creature meeting a similar fate. It was then that he heard a huge rumble and noticed that everything the invisible wind blade had touched was split in two, even the earth itself seemed to separate and form a chasm that he guessed went on for five kilometers. 'That was not the Kaze no Jaiba! What the hell was that?! This kid is too big of a threat to be left alive. Seems like I'm going to have to fight against him with full intention to kill! Even if I don't acquire the bijuu from him I could find a way to bring my plans to fruition but if I die it will all be for naught!'

Soon Taijutusu and Void Pein had engaged Naruto in close combat with the blond boy in the downside of the exchange as the taijutsu specialist body of the Pein sextuplet was far faster than Naruto. 'Damn it! Speed is one of my worst weaknesses!' He was soon propelled into the air by a kick through the remains of some concrete walls that had managed to withstand his initial 'attention getter' attack. He shook his head trying to rid himself from the feeling of grogginess caused by the impacts and looked up in time to see Summoning Pein clapping his hands and summoning a whole new array of giant creatures: 'A bull, another one of those three headed dogs, a salamander and… is that a two headed eagle?! Well let's see how much this bastard likes my next move!' With this new move in mind Naruto quickly pulled out a kunai from his holster and did a long cut along his left forearm and then used his right thumb to draw a spiral all around his arm finishing in a straight line that ran from his wrist to his middle finger. He finished the ritual by using the normal kuchiyose hand seals and as he came to the last one he screamed "**NINPOU KUCHIYOSE: ****YATAI DAIKUZUSHI** **NO JUTSU!**" The end result of the painful summoning ritual were nine gigantic clouds of smoke that appeared in the air which instantly dissipated to reveal the same number of gigantic toads, one of which was directly on top of him and falling towards him, real fast. Even more destruction of the infrastructure of Amegakure was to ensue when the nine titanic figures landed causing an earthquake which toppled many other buildings present in the village.

Pein had the presence of mind to move out of the way however one of his bodies, that of Void Pein due to its volume was not fast enough to get the hell out of dodge. The end result was a darkly hilarious 'squelch' coming from underneath of Gama-Bunta's left hind leg.

"**HERE I AM BOY AND THE GAMA-GIREIHEI IS HERE WITH ME WILLING AND EAGER TO EVEN THE SCORE WITH THIS RIKUDO BASTARD!**" The boss toad soon noticed a weird sticky feeling under his left foot and raised it in order to get a good look at whatever he had stepped on. What he found was both pleasant and gruesome at the same time: A set of human clothes along with the Akatsuki cloak that characterized the organizations members seemed to be stuck to the sole of his foot and it was blood that kept it glued. "**EEEEWWW! What the hell brat?! Did I just squash someone to death?! Now my foot's all sticky! Disgusting!**" Naruto was inwardly laughing at the scene before him. He certainly was not expecting this to happen! But as Ero-jiji had once told him: 'Luck is every bit an important part of combat as skill and strength are!' and it seemed to be true!

Pein could not help to seethe at what had just happened, two of his bodies completely destroyed, both beyond repair 'I can't believe the luck this boy has!' He needed to think fast because at the rate this fight was going he would be at the mercy of the blonde within minutes. 'Okay, there are nine toad summons and I'm only able to have three summoned creatures out at a time. How the hell did he pull that off? Unless… he was given special permission by the boss toad! And the amount of chakra he used must have been gargantuan. Even if he has those godly reserves such a move must have been a huge strain on his body!' With this idea in mind Pein focused, over the distance, on Naruto's form and indeed the boy seemed to be sweating and breathing fast. A plan formed in his mind and for it to succeed he would need Konan's aid. He tried to locate her and notice that she was by the water canal on all fours resting in order to bring herself back into the fight. 'That bunshin daibakuha really did a number on her and it's no wonder, that explosion was more potent than anything even Itachi or he himself had ever been able to achieve. 'Who would have guessed that pissing this jinchuruuki off would have brought about this kind of change on him?' "Enough of this foolishness! It's time for you to die boy!" 'I have to engage him in taijutsu while he's still tired.' With that final thought Pein rushed towards Naruto while his summons ran towards the Gama-Kireihei.

"**Gama-Jieichou!**" Gama-Bunta Bellowed "**You and the boys take care of this summon-spamming bastard and his summoned creatures. I'll help Naruto fight the other guys!**" A chorus of 'Yes Sir!' was the answer. And from that point what was once a fight became a frantic melee of epic proportions as Naruto Tried to fight off three opponents at the same time while his allies destroyed summon after summon brought to Ningenkai by Pein.

Slowly but surely and despite the numerical advantage Pein's constant summoning had managed to wither the Toad Palace Guard to just three members who soon joined Gama-Bunta inside a forested area within what was once Amegakure.

Naruto had not done any better on his own as he faced Taijutsu Pein, Ninjutsu Pein and Eiseijutsu Pein. The last one had been the most dangerous for him as he knew that a well placed hit from the Eiseijutsu user could end his life instantly. As it stood now he had gotten a few good hits in but had still been battered by his opponents, the bruises and bleeding cuts he sported were a testament to that. He had been forced to retreat to Gama-Bunta's head after a particularly vicious combined attack he had received from his opponent. Pein had also regrouped on top of his bull summon, all four remaining bodies standing side by side facing their opponents as the summoned creatures took the same position in regards to each other.

"**Damn it kid! You need to move faster!**" Gama-Bunta pointed out Naruto's main weakness to the kid "I know. I got faster with Ero-jiji's training but it's still not enough, damn it!" But the boss of toads already had something in mind 'He's bound to find out eventually' He decided to voice his plan "**Naruto! Listen I have a plan!**" The chief toad now had the blonde's attention "What is it boss?" Seeing that he had the young man's attention he continued "**Follow my instructions boy! Look towards where the summoning bastard is. He's the one giving us the most trouble and we have to get rid of him! I want you to visualize the area around him preferably the space behind him! Concentrate and will yourself to be on that place ready to strike!**" Naruto looked at him in confusion "What the hell are you talking about?!" The toad just returned Naruto's look with one of exasperation "**Believe in me kid, you are about to send this bastard for a loop! Just do as I told you but heed this warning: once you get in the path do not stray from it until you get to wherever you want to go. You do not have the necessary training to return to it!**" "What?" the boy asked the toad "**Just do it, damn it! But remember don't stray from the path!**" Naruto's reply was an annoyed 'Whatever!'

And so, Naruto concentrated on the area behind Kuchiyose Pein while chanting the mantra 'Be behind him! Be behind him!' over and over again. He had done this for all of two seconds when his view on reality suddenly shifted showing him what appeared to be holes and tunnels in it and as he chanted in his head one o the tunnels curved and twisted to point it's exit right behind Kuchiyose Pein's back. A moment later Naruto found himself behind him with his right arm outstretched, hand grasping at Pein's neck whose eyes widened in shock at the apparent speed with which the boy had moved. Naruto struck the neck with his mastery of wind as he recovered from his own shock. A head began its descent to the floor and a thunder like sound clapped through the atmosphere as air rushed to fill the empty space the blonde had occupied an instant before. Anyone that had ever faced the Yondaime Hokage and live to tell the tale would have immediately recognized what had just happened.

After nearly sixteen years the Hiraishin glided through the battlefield once again.

**A/N**

Another chapter done! Yay! Thanks to everyone that has reviewed the story so far. And believe me there is more to come. Also don't believe I have abandoned my other story, it's just that I'm completely immersed on this one right now.

Naruto's unnamed variation of the Kaze no Jaiba is just a bigger version of it but instead of using two fingers he uses his whole arm. Those of you whom have watched the Saint Seiya anime will quickly recognize that the inspiration for this attack was Capricorn Shura's "Excalibur" attack a legendary sword whose spirit was said to inhabit the right arm of Athena's most loyal Knight. It was literally capable of cutting and splitting anything it came into contact with.

**Translation notes.**

**Gama-Tsukai**: Messenger Toad.

**Gama-Kireihei**: Toad Palace Guard.

**Gama-Jieichou**: Guard Captain Toad

**Kaze no Jaiba**: Wind Blade.

**Futon Rasenshurinken**: Wind Spiral Throwing Blade.

**Ninpou: Kuchiyose: Yatai Daikuzushi no Jutsu**: Ninja Mystery: Art of the Food Cart Great Destroyer. (An upgraded version of Jiraiya's Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu)

**Jinchuruuki**: Power of human sacrifice.

**Rikudou Pein**: Pain Six Paths (or better yet "The Six Paths of Pain")

**Doujutsu**: Eye technique.

**Shurinken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**: Art of the Throwing Blade Shadow Clone.

**Kage Bunshin Daibakuha**: Shadow Clone Great Explosion.

**Ningenkai**: the Human world.

**Hiraishin**: Flying Thunder God.

**Hiraishin no Jutsu**: Flying Thunder God Technique.


End file.
